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2017-18 OHL Season
This is the 2017-18 Ontario Hockey League season. This is the league's 48th season dating back to its' founding as the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 16 are based in the Canadian province of Ontario,three teams in the American state of Michigan and one team in the American state of Pennsylvania. Out of the 18 teams based in Ontario, 15 teams are in Southern Ontario, and 3 teams are in Northern Ontario. The 20 OHL clubs play a 68 game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety per cent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players. Ninety-five per cent (95%) of the players in the league are attending high school or college. Outdoor Game On November 8, 2017 it was announced that the Ottawa 67's would host the Gatineau Olympiques on December 17th. This will be the first Ontario Hockey League involved game held outdoors in the province of Ontario. The game is being held in conjunction with the NHL 100 Classic being held the day before at TD Place Stadium. Franchise changes none Current member teams Standings Eastern Conference Eastern Division Central Division Western Conference Midwest Division West Division 2018 J. Ross Robertson Cup Playoffs The J. Ross Robertson Cup playoffs consist of 16 teams, the top 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-seven game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The Eastern Conference champion is awarded the Bobby Orr Trophy and the Western Conference champion is awarded the Wayne Gretzky Trophy. The two conference champions compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the 2018 Memorial Cup being held at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 18 to 27, 2018. Taylor Raddysh of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and a 2016 NHL Draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, set an OHL record on May 11th when he played in his 77th career OHL playoff game in game 5 of the Robertson Cup final. He started his career with an OHL final run in 2015, a conference final run in 2016, a Robertson Cup victory in 2017 with the Erie Otters. In 2018, now with the Greyhounds he reached the Robertson Cup final again. He would end up playing in 78 OHL playoff games. East Quarterfinals *Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 1 *Barrie Colts defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 2 *Kingston Frontenacs defeated North Bay Battalion 4 games to 1 *Niagara IceDogs defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 West Quarterfinals *Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Saginaw Spirit 4 games to none *Kitchener Rangers defeated Guelph Storm 4 games to 2 *Sarnia Sting defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 2 *Owen Sound Attack defeated London Knights 4 games to none East Semifinals *Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Niagara IceDogs 4 games to 1 *Kingston Frontenacs defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 2 West Semifinals *Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Owen Sound Attack 4 games to 3 *Kitchener Rangers defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 2 East Final *Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 1 West Final *Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 3 J. Ross Robertson Cup Final *Hamilton Bulldogs defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 2 The Hamilton Bulldogs win their first OHL championship and advance to the 2018 Memorial Cup. Hamilton's Robert Thomas a first round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues was named Wayne Gretzky 99 Award recipient as OHL Playoffs MVP. He had 12 goals and 20 assists in 21 games during the playoffs. The organization previously won the OHL championship when it was known as the Belleville Bulls in 1999. They are the first Hamilton based team to win an the J. Ross Robertson Cup since the Hamilton Fincups won the OHL title in 1976 and the city's third OHL title overall as the Hamilton Red Wings won the OHA title back in 1962. Both of these teams went on to win the Memorial Cup in those years. Category:2018 in hockey Category:Ontario Hockey League seasons